Support small scale businesses – ASSI
The Secretary of the Eastern Regional branch of the Association of Small Scale Industries (ASSI), Mr Alfred Kissi, has called on the National Democratic Congress to honour its promise to support business associations as stated in their 2008 manifesto.
He said much support has not been given to the Eastern Regional branch of ASSI as promised and suggested that part of the Local Enterprise Support Development Programme (LESDEP) should be routed through the business associations like ASSI to support the difficulties facing members of those associations.
Mr Kissi said this at Koforidua during the presentation of a memorandum for support and the research findings of the Institute of Local Government on the need for District Assemblies in Eastern Region to support local industries in their districts.
The memorandum was presented on behalf of ASSI by Mr Ben Appiah, the Regional Chairman of the association and was received by the New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Alex Asamoah.
The memorandum is to urged the assembly to comply with the directive of the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council to all Assemblies in the region to involve Medium and Small Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in their planning, fee fixing and public procurement process and to provide needed support for the growth and developments of SMEs.
Mr Appiah called for the relaxation of the conditions attached to the granting of support to the SMEs under the Social Investment Fund loans to enable the members of ASSI in the New Juaben and Birim Central Municipalities to access the support.
He said some associations under ASSI tried to acquire land at Oyoko, near Koforidua but could not raise the necessary compensation for the landlords and so now the Municipal Assembly is facilitating the process.
He promised to meet the business community in the municipality regularly and urged them to respond to his invitations.
Mr Gyatto Sampson, the Municipal Finance Officer, called on the members of the business community to honour their obligation to the assembly to enable the assembly to play its expected role in the development of the Municipality.
Mr Kwasi Afriyie Badu, Chief Executive Officer of KAB Consult, consultants to ASSI, advised the assembly to develop policies on local content to use the procurement process to support the local enterprises.
He said it is the owners of local enterprises who pay rates and the various levies to create internally generated funds for the assembly for development and thus need to be supported.
Source: GNA